Psychology scholarship

PhD Scholarship: Enhancing engagement with digital mindfulness-based interventions (2019)

What you get

A stipend of £14.777 p.a. for 3 years. UK/EU. PhD fees and research and training costs are also covered.

Type of award

Postgraduate Research: Enhancing engagement with digital mindfulness-based interventions

PhD project

Supervisor/s:

Dr Kate Cavanagh (University of Sussex, Sussex Mindfulness Centre), Dr Clara Strauss (Sussex Mindfulness Centre, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust), and Dr. Janis Martman (Headspace)

There is growing evidence that mindfulness-based interventions can be beneficial in a range of clinical and community contexts. This evidence base is driving widespread interest in building capacity to extend the reach of mindfulness training to individuals via lower intensity means, including digital resources (see Cavanagh, Strauss, Forder & Jones, 2014 for review). Through its core suite of meditation app and online offerings, Headspace has reached more than 30 million users in 190 countries (www.headspace.com). This PhD is offered in collaboration with Headspace and will explore user engagement with the Headspace app. The PhD will draw on multiple methods, including systematic literature review, archival data analysis, user testing and experimental research to examine potential predictors of engagement with Headspace and the effects of engagement on mindfulness and other health-related outcomes.

We encourage PhD by publication and will support the PhD student to have a number of published papers by the time they complete their thesis.

The School of Psychology is one of the largest centres for the study of psychology in the UK with nearly 50 academic faculty and over 1000 undergraduate and postgraduate students working in a rich and supportive learning environment. 

Psychology is a diverse discipline and our size means that we span major research areas in social, cognitive, biological, developmental and clinical psychology. Psychology at Sussex was rated 10th in the UK for research in the 2014 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). 91% of our research at Sussex is ranked as world-leading or internationally significant.

 

Eligibility

• This award will only pay fees at the Home/EU rate.

• Candidates must have, or expect to obtain, a First or a high Upper Second Class Honours undergraduate degree, or equivalent qualification, and/or a Master's degree in Psychology or a related discipline.

Number of scholarships available

1

Deadline

4 March 2019 0:00

How to apply

• Please submit your application online at http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/phd/apply for the 'PhD in Psychology' programme for September 2019.
• In the 'Supervisor suggested by applicant' section of your application form, please put 'Kate Cavanagh'
• In the 'Proposed source of funding' section of your application form, please put ‘Headspace’
• Candidates should provide
• A research proposal that outlines your knowledge of the research area, hypotheses that could be addressed in your PhD, and an outline of potential methods. Your answer should not exceed 2 pages including references, be set at minimum 10-font type with margins a minimum of 1cm.
• An up-to-date CV
• Current degree transcript(s) with full details of performance on all completed courses
• Two academic references

Sponsors

Frequently Asked Questions relating to applying for a PhD in Psychology at the University of Sussex

Contact us

For queries with respect to the application process please send an email to 'Postgraduate Coordinator' to: psychologyphd-enquiries@sussex.ac.uk 

To discuss the details of this PhD project further, please contact Dr Kate Cavanagh kate.cavanagh@sussex.ac.uk

 

 

Timetable

Deadline for applications: EXTENDED to 4 March 2019